


Refuge

by Chikabow



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 21:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7378225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chikabow/pseuds/Chikabow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Galen finds a safe haven from the party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Refuge

Galen didn’t consider himself a loner, but today had been a long, tiring day and the last thing he wanted was to go to a party, in CLG’s house, with all these people and noise. The team had made him come. They said it “built team spirit”. The only thing this party was building was boredom.

 

However, much to Galen’s appreciation, he had found a quiet room. It was in a remote corner of the whole complex, far away from the crowded pool or the too hot to be in house. You could see the room didn’t get much use.

 

An old lamp fixed to the ceiling by a chain sent out an unsteady, flickering light. The couch was coated with a plastic sheet and the furniture was covered in dust. Galen took the plastic off the couch and took a seat. He had come equipped to an eventuality like this and had brought a book. The team would text him when it was time to leave or he could always call a cab. He wasn’t worried about losing track of time. It would actually be good to do so. The life of a professional player was demanding, in between LCS, scrims and practice, there wasn’t much time to unwind and relax. His team’s definition of unwinding was to party, his was having a quiet night to himself. Immersing in a fantasy world lost amidst all the words was just the way to do it.

 

His time alone did not last long though. The door was pushed open. Galen looked up. To his relief it wasn’t a drunken couple making out that would make him have leave the room, but it was “Santorin”. Galen didn’t know much about Santorin, he wasn’t even sure about his name. He knew he had taken his place as jungler in NRG and had previously been on TSM. Santorin looked distressed.

 

“Sorry, I was looking for somewhere quiet because Bjergsen was being annoying and it’s far too noisy in there and I thought this room was empty, I can go…” He blurted out apologetically.

 

“It’s ok. You can stay if you want.” Lucas stood at the room entrance. One hand in the door knob, another one nervously fidgeting in his pocket. “There’s an old console and a TV there. We could try to set it up and play.” Galen finally said, breaking the silence. He wasn’t too fond of his quiet time being interrupted, but Santorin didn’t seem like the kind of person that would annoy him, that would make fun of him for reading a book alone in a party, and for that, he was thankful.

 

“You really don’t mind? You seemed like you were enjoying your book.” He said. Santorin looked like he too, was just looking for a way out. Something Galen could connect to. Who was he to stop Santorin from enjoying the only secluded, tranquil space in the whole CLG complex?

 

“It doesn’t seem you want to go back there.” Galen answered.

 

“Yeah… I guess not.” Santorin said, unsure. He felt like he was invading Moon’s space, abusing his kindness.

 

Lucas let go of the door knob and walked a little further into the room, still unsure of his place here. The couch was big enough for the both of them to sit and not be too close. Lucas seemed to have understood that when Galen told him to take a seat. Galen didn’t really return to his book even if he was facing it and looked focused. He was still assessing Santorin. Lucas, seeing as Galen was focused in the book, took his phone out of his pocket, opened the Twitter app and began scrolling, not really paying much attention. Some pictures of the party were already up and some people from Europe and Korea had commented on it.

 

Galen closed his book.  He stared a little into room, apparently deliberating something, and then faced Lucas who was already watching Galen’s sudden actions.

 

“I’m Galen, also known as Moon in game. Currently in team liquid.” Galen introduced himself.

 

“Uh…” Lucas stuttered. “My name is Lucas. I’m Santorin in game and I’m the new jungler for NRG. I guess I took your place…” Lucas awkwardly joked, immediately regretting it. Galen didn’t seem to take it the wrong way seeing as he chuckled in response. He was happy that Santor- no Lucas knew who he was.

 

“Still want to try to set that console up?” He asked.

 

“Yes, sure.” Lucas answered, his voice still hesitant. 

 

A lonely TV was planted on the floor, covered by dust too and an old Sega Saturn by its side. Galen dropped his book on the couch and walked towards the TV. Lucas followed.  
  
“Get the TV running. I’ll get the console. I had one of these when I was young.” Galen commanded. Lucas grabbed a cloth that was lying around and wiped most of the dust off the screen. He went around the TV and checked for the cables. Both were connect to the TV but the power cable was out of the plug. After plugging it in, he checked the console cable. That one was connected.

 

On Galen’s side, he had blown off the dust and connected the power cable to the socket. He pressed the button that read “ _power_ ” and a green light turned on.

 

“Is the TV working?” Galen asked.

 

“It should be.” Lucas said. “I’ll try turning it on.”

 

The TV successfully turned on and showed the console asking to choose the system’s language, on a black background with blue lines and green box displaying six options. Galen picked up a controller and instinctively chose his native language. The background remained and now, in a red box, the system asked for the date and time. After putting the date and an approximate time that both boys didn’t make much effort to know. Finally, on a silver background, the Sega Saturn logo appeared and the main screen appeared. There was no disk inside. Galen pressed the center button saying “ _open_ ” and the disk tray opened.

 

“Now we need to find a game to play.” Galen said with a small laugh in the end. Lucas made his way to the long dark oak bookcase, just two stories high, that went from one side of the room to the other, effectively occupying the entire length of the wall. He took of the long plastic sheet covering the bookcase and casting the dust into the air. Lucas coughed and waved his hand in a attempt to clean the air in front of him.

 

The bookcase was mostly empty, dusty even with the plastic that had been covering it, and there were some old books and video game cases. Galen caught up with Lucas and sat down on the floor, inspecting the games they could play. He took “ _Saturn Bomberman_ ” off the shelf.

 

“Oh I used to play this with a friend back home. We played this countless times.” Galen remembered. A certain nostalgia was noticeable in his voice. Lucas said nothing of it. The ever-determined-to-save-the-world-through-his-bombs, Bomberman was plastered in the cover of the case. Lucas himself got a little nostalgic, it wouldn’t be him reliving something from his childhood, but, somehow, Galen’s words were strong enough to send him into thought and make him remember his own childhood games. Being away from home was even harder during times like this, when you are in an unknown place and remember the old times. Lucas though, was determined to make the most of this opportunity that had presented itself to him, to evade the crowded party so he cleared these thoughts from his mind. 

 

They both took a seat on the floor, facing the TV, after Galen had inserted the disk into the tray. The game started up and story mode was selected.

 

“What are the controls?” Lucas inquired.

 

“Press B to drop the bomb in the square you’re standing in. Move to a safe place after you place the bomb because it will detonate shortly after. You need to place the bombs to clean the way and kill the enemies.” Galen explained.

 

“Like this?” Lucas asked.

 

“Yes. Don’t stay in the explosion radius though. You can end up killing yourself.” Galen advised. “Or even me.” He said after a pause and a dangerous bomb Lucas had planted.

 

“I think… I got it. I’ll get the hang of it soon, I’m sure.”

 

Galen had played this game dozens of times, the first level even more. He didn’t need to pay much attention to it. He chose to direct the attention to the other boy. Lucas had dark blonde hair styled like a wave that fell to the other side, a defined jaw line and brownish green eyes. He seemed a kind, shy person.

 

“How’s NRG treating you?” Galen inquired shortly after clearing the first level.

 

“I just moved in recently. The house is cool and the staff has been nice to me. I haven’t really developed a relationship with any of my teammates but we’re getting there, I’m sure.”

 

“GMB is a cool guy. I think you will get along with him.” Galen tried to reassure Lucas. He was probably as lost in his professional life as he was in this party when he entered the room, Galen thought.

 

Lucas mumbled a _yeah_ in response. He seemed calmer, somehow. Maybe it was the serene aura of this room, maybe it was because he was distracted by the game or even just the fact that he was out of that party environment was enough to calm him. The party seemed like a very distant world, when, in fact it was only a few meters away. The thick walls didn’t show the real distance.

 

“You take the right path and I’ll take the left one. We’ll meet at the end and we’ll have the boss surrounded, Ok?” Galen strategized.

 

“Ok.” Lucas answered.

 

Galen himself was a little lost too. He had just left NRG to join Team Liquid. He knew some of the guys, was friends with them even but a change of team is always a change of team. It meant changing the space where you live, the people you live with and the people you work with. The only thing that didn’t change was the uncertainty of what tomorrow would bring.

 

Maybe this night started out terribly wrong for Lucas or horribly boring for Galen but now they had met a new person. Maybe it was the beginning of a friendship?


End file.
